696 F.

2d 901

Jane DOE, a minor, By and Through her father and next

friend, John DOE, and John Doe, individually,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST OF DADE COUNTY d/b/a
Jackson Memorial
Hospital, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
No. 80-5963.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eleventh Circuit.
Jan. 24, 1983.

Kathleen Phillips, Joel V. Lumer, William Ploss, Miami, Fla., for

plaintiffs-appellants.
Melinda Sterman Thornton, Asst. County Atty., Miami, Fla., for
defendants-appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of
Florida.
Before VANCE, HATCHETT and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:

In his separate concurring opinion Judge Hatchett has sufficiently stated the
factual and procedural background of this case and has correctly identified the
standard of review. The panel majority, however, differs with Judge Hatchett
on the central issues before us and their resolution.

Our concern is focused on the rights of the parties when a child is voluntarily
hospitalized in a mental treatment facility, particularly with reference to the
parents' rights of communication with the child and their right to supervise his
or her treatment.

Our courts have addressed at some length the rights of persons involuntarily
committed to mental hospitals. In the seminal case of Donaldson v. O'Connor,
493 F.2d 507 (5th Cir.1974), we held that such a person has a constitutional
right to such individual treatment as will help him be cured or to improve his
mental condition. Donaldson and the subsequent holding in Wyatt v. Aderholt,
503 F.2d 1305 (5th Cir.1974), established that the rights therein recognized
could be implemented through judicially manageable standards. The
requirement that the treatment be accomplished in the least restrictive setting
was held in Gary W. v. State of La., 437 F.Supp. 1209 (E.D.La.1976) to be a
convenient summary of the standard applicable to all governmental restrictions
on fundamental personal liberties, as set forth in Shelton v. Tucker, 364 U.S.
479, 488, 81 S.Ct. 247, 252, 5 L.Ed.2d 231 (1960).

The Donaldson rationale is of key importance to our present inquiry. It began

by noting that civil commitment or involuntary hospitalization entails a massive
curtailment of liberty in a constitutional sense. Id., 493 F.2d at 520. From this
beginning the Donaldson court reasoned that such curtailment is justified only
by a patient's danger to himself and others or the patient's need for treatment. It
concluded that fundamentals of due process were offended when treatment was
not in fact provided.

The language of Shelton on which the court focused in Gary W. was as follows:

6
[E]ven
though the governmental purpose be legitimate and substantial, that purpose
cannot be pursued by means that broadly stifle fundamental personal liberties when
the end can be more narrowly achieved. The breadth of legislative abridgement must
be viewed in light of less drastic means for achieving the same basic purpose.
7

364 U.S. at 488, 81 S.Ct. at 252. Even so, the court was quick to point out that
the imperative that the least drastic means be considered does not imply that
every involuntary patient has a right to a personal judicial determination that
his or her care and treatment were the best possible or the least restrictive
conceivable. Gary W. v. State of La., 437 F.Supp. at 1217.

The Does argue that the least restrictive requirement is applicable in Jane Doe's
case and was shown to have been violated under the alleged facts by the nocommunication rule. They reason that limitations on the parents'
communication with Jane must be measured by due process standards. The
contention breaks down, however, when we focus on the voluntary nature of
Jane Doe's hospitalization. Unlike the involuntary patient, the voluntary one
has not been forced to suffer any massive curtailment of liberty. Curtailment of
liberty in such case does not provide the quid pro quo requiring some

corresponding duty on the part of those from whom he or she seeks treatment.
The voluntary patient carries the key to the hospital's exit in her hand. She
chooses to accept treatment or not accept it as a matter of the exercise of free
will.
9

The Does assert that parents have the right to decide what medical attention
should or should not be provided for their children. They argue that the right
can be ignored only upon a showing of compelling state interest. They claim
that their rights were violated when defendants did not obtain express and
informed consent for specific treatment and medication. In our view the Does
exercised their rights to decide what medical treatment should or should not be
provided Jane when they decided voluntarily to admit her to Jackson Memorial
Hospital. John Doe's rights to make decisions for his daughter can be no greater
than his rights to make medical decisions for himself. The court's holding in
Rogers v. Okin, 634 F.2d 650 (1st Cir.1980), when speaking of a contended
right of a voluntary adult patient to refuse antipsychotic medication, is
dispositive of the contention:

10 district court in effect found that Massachusetts citizens have a constitutional

[T]he
right upon voluntary admittance to state facilities to dictate to the hospital staff the
treatment that they are given. The district court cited no authority for this finding,
and we know of none. Massachusetts law provides for the voluntary admission of
mental health patients who are "in need of care and treatment ... providing the
admitting facility is suitable for such care and treatment." Mass.Gen.Laws Ann. ch.
123 Sec. 10(a). The statute does not guarantee voluntary patients the treatment of
their choice. Instead, it offers a treatment regimen that state doctors and staff
determine is best, and if the patient thinks otherwise, he can leave.10 We can find
nothing even arguably unconstitutional in such a statutory scheme.
11

Id. at 661.

12

The Does cite Perry v. Sinderman, 408 U.S. 593, 92 S.Ct. 2694, 33 L.Ed.2d
570 (1972); Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398, 83 S.Ct. 1790, 10 L.Ed.2d 965
(1963); Speiser v. Randall, 357 U.S. 513, 78 S.Ct. 1332, 2 L.Ed.2d 1460
(1958), and related cases for the proposition that the state may not deny a
benefit to a person on a basis that infringes his constitutionally protected
interests. They argue that the rights of family unity and of familial association
are fundamental constitutional rights that they cannot be required to surrender
as a condition to receiving the medical services provided by Dade County.

13

Judge Hatchett reasons that Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584, 99 S.Ct. 2493, 61
L.Ed.2d 101 (1974), implicitly recognizes a constitutional right of parents to

communicate with a child committed to a state mental hospital else they could
not exercise the rights and duties to act in the child's interest that Parham makes
implicit. We assume that some such communication right exists. The majority
feels, however, that our efforts to probe the depths and give definition to the
murky boundaries of such a communication right are better left to a case
involving record evidence and facts as found rather than on review of a motion
to dismiss. For the present we differ with the conclusion that under all facts and
circumstances restriction of such right constitutes a constitutional violation. In
his concurring opinion in Parham Justice Stewart observed,
14 not every loss of liberty is government deprivation of liberty, and it is only the
But
latter that invokes the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
15

Id. at 622, 99 S.Ct. at 2514. If the no-communication rule to which Jane Doe
was subjected was in fact medically legitimate and therapeutic, Wyman v.
James, 400 U.S. 309, 91 S.Ct. 381, 27 L.Ed.2d 408 (1971), supports the
conclusion that it is not constitutionally offensive. In Wyman a welfare
recipient asserted a fourth amendment challenge to New York's right to require
home visitation as a condition for receipt of the public payments. The dissent
argued that Mrs. James could not be required to waive her constitutional
immunity from search in order to receive the state benefit. 400 U.S. at 328-29,
91 S.Ct. at 391 (Douglas, J., dissenting); 400 U.S. at 344, 91 S.Ct. at 400
(Marshall and Brennan, JJ., dissenting). The majority held, however, that the
home visit was at the "heart of welfare administration" and was part of the
rehabilitative purpose of the program. The Court concluded that the search was
reasonable. 400 U.S. at 318-24, 91 S.Ct. at 386-89. If the no-communication
therapy in this case is medically legitimate and is part of the service or benefit
being offered by the state, the restriction on communication is part and parcel
of the benefit being bestowed. This being so, there would be no improper
condition upon the state benefit.

16

We recognize, of course, that under our liberal rules of pleading a complaint

should not be dismissed unless it appears that the plaintiff can prove no set of
facts that would entitle him to relief. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct.
99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). By their "test case" approach the Does have primarily
focused the court's attention on their arguments addressing allegations that
defendants violated their rights (1) that Jane Doe be provided treatment in the
least restrictive environment, and (2) that defendants must not restrict rights of
communication between parent and child and supervision of treatment. These
arguments are presented in the context of voluntary patient status. Although we
reject the arguments as asserted, they have obscured two claims that we
conclude are arguably contained within the amended complaint.

17

The complaint alleged that Jane Doe entered the hospital as a voluntary patient.
Subsequent allegations, however, may be construed to claim that her status
became involuntary. Whether or not it became involuntary, because of force or
deception, is a question of fact. In addition the Does contend that the nocommunication rule is a mere pretext, utterly nontherapeutic and medically
illegitimate.1 If so, and if the benefits of the state provided medical services are
conditioned upon a waiver of such right of communication, then the Does will
have stated a valid cause of action. Because of these contentions the majority
concludes that the district court erred in dismissing the Does' complaint.

18

To summarize: The panel majority rejects the contentions (1) that a voluntary,
minor mental patient must be treated in the least restrictive environment, (2)
that such patient and her parents have communication rights and rights to
supervise the treatment which foreclose a bona fide therapeutic nocommunication rule. We conclude, however, that the breadth of the Does'
allegations, as argued here and in the district court, are sufficient to include
claims (1) that their rights were violated because she was a de-facto involuntary
patient and (2) that the no-communication rule is nontherapeutic and medically
illegitimate and an improper condition upon a state benefit.

19

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

20

HATCHETT, Circuit Judge, specially concurring.

21

It overlooks reality to say, as the majority does, that a child admitted to a

hospital by a parent is a voluntary patient and under the law, should be treated
more like an adult voluntary patient than an adult involuntary patient. To hold,
as the majority does, that the parents of a child have the right to seek medical
treatment for the child and protect the child's interests without any knowledge
or first hand observation of the treatment's progress is folly. Thus, while I agree
to the reversal and remand of this case, I write separately to point out the
illogical conclusions reached by the majority, and to accent the serious
constitutional deprivation in this case.

22

John Doe, appellant, contends that the Public Health Trust of Dade County
(Public Health Trust) abridged his constitutional right to supervise his
hospitalized child by preventing him access to information concerning the wellbeing of the child and by prohibiting communications with the child. Because I
find that the complaint alleges an impairment of John Doe's constitutional
rights, I would hold that Doe's complaint presents a substantial federal question
and that the allegations in the complaint state a claim upon which relief may be

granted. I would therefore reverse the district court.

I. BACKGROUND
A. Facts
23

According to the amended complaint, John Doe voluntarily admitted his

daughter, Jane, to Jackson Memorial Hospital's adolescent psychiatric unit on or
about July 29, 1980. Upon her admittance, hospital authorities told Jane's
parents (Does) that she would undergo a one-week evaluation period during
which no communications would be permitted between them and their child.
The parents consented to this seven-day no communications period. Following
the intake period, the hospital's doctors met with Jane's parents to discuss Jane's
evaluation process. Although the doctors never informed Jane's parents of the
diagnosis arrived at by the intake team, the doctors assigned Jane to the
adolescent unit under a therapy regimen that involved a "privilege" system. This
therapy required Jane to earn all privileges, including the privilege to
communicate with her parents in person or in writing. Jane's parents allege that
the hospital misrepresented the nature of the privilege system and led them to
believe that communications would be quickly reestablished.

24

After one month without any communication, Jane's parents began to pressure
hospital administrators for some contact with Jane. Hospital officials rebuffed
their efforts and refused to inform them of the diagnosis of Jane's mental
condition. The anxiety was further heightened when Jane's parents discovered
that the hospital was not treating Jane for a kidney ailment as requested. In
addition, the parents learned that the hospital was treating Jane with
medication, without parental consent, for a gynecological problem that hospital
officials refused to explain. After efforts to regain contact with their daughter
failed, the Does attempted to find a new treatment program for Jane. Because
the therapy had lasted for more than two months, however, their insurance
benefits, which paid for her treatment, were nearly exhausted. No other
treatment facility would accept Jane because the insurance was no longer
sufficient to guarantee completion of a therapy program.

B. Procedural History
25

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1983, John Doe filed his complaint on behalf of
himself and Jane on September 17, 1980, seeking both declaratory and
injunctive relief. He alleged deprivation of parental rights guaranteed by the
first, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendments to the United States
Constitution. In addition to the complaint, John Doe also filed a motion for a

temporary restraining order to prevent the Public Health Trust from enforcing
its prohibition of communication between parents and daughter. At an
emergency hearing, finding no federally protected right under the
circumstances of this case that would permit the court to exercise jurisdiction
and direct the Public Health Trust to alter its treatment of Jane, the district court
denied the motion. John Doe subsequently filed his amended complaint, motion
for preliminary injunction, and memorandum of law in support of the view that
a substantial federal question existed sufficient to supply the court with subject
matter jurisdiction.
26

Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and (6), the Public Health Trust moved to
dismiss the amended complaint contending that the district court lacked
jurisdiction over the subject matter and that it failed to state a claim upon which
relief could be granted. For the reasons set forth during the hearing on Doe's
motion for a temporary restraining order, the district court granted the motion
to dismiss.1

27

Despite the district court's reliance upon its "reasons" set forth during the
hearing, my examination of that hearing's transcript leaves me uncertain as to
the exact basis for the dismissal. I believe the district court concluded that
subject matter jurisdiction was absent. The parties, however, consider the
dismissal as predicated upon a failure to state a claim upon which relief could
be granted. Because of the uncertainty and the possibility that the court based
the dismissal on both grounds, the allegations of the amended complaint shall
be compared against the standards justifying dismissal under Fed.R.Civ.P.
12(b)(1) and (6). Furthermore, because the district court dismissed the
complaint for either lack of subject matter jurisdiction or failure to state a claim
or both, Doe's allegations are regarded as true. Cooper v. Pate, 378 U.S. 546, 84
S.Ct. 1733, 12 L.Ed.2d 1030 (1964); Dike v. School Board of Orange County,
650 F.2d 783, 784 (5th Cir.1981); Miller v. Stanmore, 636 F.2d 986, 988 (5th
Cir.1981).

28

In dismissing the complaint, the district court recognized the constitutional

right of a parent to speak with his child. The crucial question, according to the
district court, was whether the Constitution provides any rights which obligate
a federal court to mandate changes in a state hospital's treatment program.
Believing that no such rights exist, the district court focused on the voluntary
nature of Jane's commitment and her parents' ability to remove her from the
therapy program at any time. The district court believed that voluntary
commitment involves a relinquishment of certain rights when the exercise of
those rights directly conflicts with the therapy being employed. Assuming that
neither due process nor other constitutional safeguards apply to the voluntary

commitment of a minor, the trial court deemed the treatment program's policy
requiring Jane's parents to relinquish their right to communicate with their
daughter a neutral condition reasonably related to the rendition of a state
benefit.
29

John Doe contends that the Public Health Trust may not condition the receipt of
services on the relinquishment of a constitutional right. He further asserts that
the district court erred in presuming that the distinction between voluntary and
involuntary patients was dispositive of the issue of whether a liberty interest of
the parent had been violated. The Public Health Trust counters with the
argument that because Jane Doe is a voluntary patient, she does not possess the
constitutional rights of involuntarily institutionalized mental patients. The
Public Health Trust further asserts that because Jane's parents have not suffered
a violation of a federally protected interest, any cause of action that may exist
must be pursued in state court.

II. ISSUES
30

Initially, it must be decided (1) whether a parent has a constitutionally protected

right to supervise the medical treatment of a minor child when the parent
voluntarily admits the child to a state psychiatric facility; and (2) if the right
exists, whether this right is violated when a state therapy program prohibits the
exercise of parental supervision by foreclosing parental access to information
concerning the child's well-being and by precluding communication between
parent and child.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW ON A MOTION TO DISMISS

31
32

I note at the outset the liberal construction that district courts must accord a
plaintiff's complaint. For purposes of a motion to dismiss, the district court
must liberally construe the material allegations in favor of the plaintiff. Jenkins
v. McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 421, 89 S.Ct. 1843, 1848, 23 L.Ed.2d 404 (1969);
Bracewell v. Nicholson Air Services, Inc., 680 F.2d 103, 104 (11th Cir.1982).
The initial inquiry on review requires a determination of whether the district
court had subject matter jurisdiction. In this regard, a liberal standard guides the
trial court in determining whether the question is substantial enough to invoke
federal jurisdiction. Davis v. Cluet, Peabody & Co., 667 F.2d 1371 (11th
Cir.1982). A complaint should be dismissed only where the federal question is
so "unsubstantial, implausible, foreclosed by prior decisions, or otherwise
completely devoid in its merits as not to involve a federal controversy." Davis,
667 F.2d at 1372 (citing Oneida Indian Nation v. County of Oneida, 414 U.S.
661, 666, 94 S.Ct. 772, 776, 39 L.Ed.2d 73 (1974)). With regard to a motion to

dismiss for failure to state a claim, a section 1983 complaint should not be
dismissed unless it appears that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts which
would entitle him to relief. Richardson v. Fleming, 651 F.2d 366 (5th
Cir.1981).
33

Doe's contention that this case presents a substantial federal question shall be
addressed first.

IV. THE EXISTENCE OF A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT

34

No federal court has squarely addressed whether parents possess a

constitutional right to communicate with their children who are committed to a
state mental health facility. In Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584, 99 S.Ct. 2493, 61
L.Ed.2d 101 (1974), however, the Supreme Court implicitly recognized the
existence of this right in upholding Georgia's procedures for the "voluntary"
commitment of minors to state mental hospitals. The Court held that, in view of
(1) the liberty interest of the children in not being unnecessarily confined, (2)
the rights and obligations of parents in acting for their child, (3) the state's
obligation and interest regarding the operation of its mental health care
facilities, and (4) the risk of error inherent in the commitment decision, due
process did not require a formal or quasi-formal pre-confinement hearing on the
propriety of commitment when parents seek to voluntarily admit their child.
The Court held, rather, that due process requires only that a "neutral fact finder"
conduct some kind of inquiry to determine whether statutory admission
requirements are satisfied. Parham, 442 U.S. at 606, 99 S.Ct. at 2506. In
upholding this procedure, however, the Court placed particular reliance on the
fact that the procedure was coupled with the parents' presumed exercise of their
right and duty to act in the best interests of their children. Parham, 442 U.S. at
602-03, 99 S.Ct. at 2504. While noting that the parental decision to commit
their child is not absolute and unreviewable, the Court concluded that parents
"retain a substantial, if not the dominant, role in the decision, absent a finding
of neglect or abuse, and that the traditional presumption that the parents act in
the best interests of their child should apply." Parham, 442 U.S. at 604, 99 S.Ct.
at 2505.

35

Although the initial commitment of a psychiatric patient is constitutionally

justified, confinement may continue only as long as that basis exists. O'Connor
v. Donaldson, 422 U.S. 563, 574-75, 95 S.Ct. 2486, 2493, 45 L.Ed.2d 396
(1975). Thus, the Parham Court also recognized the necessity of reviewing the
child's continuing need for commitment by an independent procedure. Parham,
442 U.S. at 607, 99 S.Ct. at 2506. The Court suggested that in the absence of a
formal or quasi-formal hearing, both hospital oversight and continuing parental

supervision are necessary safeguards against the risk of erroneous commitment

of minors. Indeed, the Court emphasized the important role parents play in
monitoring the propriety of continued hospitalization. In this regard, the Court
stated:
36

The absence of an adult who cares deeply for a child has little effect on the
reliability of the initial admission decision, but it may have some effect on how
long a child will remain in the hospital. We noted in Addington v. Texas, 441
U.S. at 428-429, [99 S.Ct. 1804 at 1811, 60 L.Ed.2d 323], that "the concern of
family and friends generally will provide continuous opportunities for an
erroneous commitment to be corrected." For a child without natural parents, we
must acknowledge the risk of being "lost in the shuffle."

37

Parham, 442 U.S. at 619, 99 S.Ct. at 2512. Because parental concern and
supervision comprise a necessary safeguard against the wrongful initial and
continued confinement of the child, Parham supports, in the absence of formal
procedural protections, a constitutional right of continuing parental oversight.2

38

The significance of this right is magnified when the restrictions imposed by the
treatment program are viewed from the child's perspective. John Doe's
amended complaint also alleges a deprivation of Jane's first amendment rights
of speech and association, as well as a deprivation of her liberty interests
without due process of law. From Jane's perspective as a minor, her continued
hospitalization closely resembles an involuntary commitment. As are most
adolescents, she is simply incapable of making a rational judgment on the
continuing need for medical attention. Thus, she must rely on her parents to
make those decisions. See Parham, 442 U.S. at 603, 99 S.Ct. at 2504. Where
the parent and child are unable to communicate in any manner, however, the
parent is effectively prevented from making an informed decision on an
important parental responsibility. It follows that an absolute restriction on
parental access to information concerning the well-being of their
institutionalized children, coupled with a prohibition against parent-child
communication, renders ineffectual the right to assess the need for continued
hospitalization.

39

In addition to the right of continual parental oversight which Parham

recognizes, it is noted that the Supreme Court has consistently acknowledged
the constitutional stature of the family, and of the parent-child relationship.
Both are rooted within the due process and equal protection clauses of the
fourteenth amendment and within the penumbral zone of privacy created by the
ninth amendment in conjunction with several fundamental guarantees. See, e.g.,
Santosky v. Kramer, --- U.S. ----, ----, 102 S.Ct. 1388, 1394, 71 L.Ed.2d 599,

606 (1982) (natural parents possess a fundamental liberty interest in the care,
custody, and management of their child); Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 152-53,
93 S.Ct. 705, 726, 35 L.Ed.2d 147 (1973) (constitutional right of privacy
embraces activities related to marriage, procreation, contraception, family
relationships, and child rearing and education). "It is cardinal with us that the
custody, care, and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary
function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state can neither
supply nor hinder." Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158, 166, 64 S.Ct. 438,
442, 88 L.Ed. 645 (1944). More recently, the Court stated:
40 Court has long recognized that freedom of personal choice in matters of
"This
marriage and family life is one of the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment."
41

....

42 decisions establish that the Constitution protects the sanctity of the family
Our
precisely because the institution of the family is deeply rooted in the Nation's
history and tradition.
43

Moore v. East Cleveland, 431 U.S. 494, 499, 503, 97 S.Ct. 1932, 1935, 1937,
52 L.Ed.2d 531 (1977) (quoting Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, 414
U.S. 632, 639-40, 94 S.Ct. 791, 796, 39 L.Ed.2d 52 (1974)).

44

A host of Supreme Court decisions have extended constitutional protection to

freedom of choice with respect to child rearing. E.g., LaFleur, 414 U.S. 632, 94
S.Ct. 791, 39 L.Ed.2d 52 (1974); Roe, 410 U.S. 113, 93 S.Ct. 705, 35 L.Ed.2d
147 (1973); Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 85 S.Ct. 1678, 14 L.Ed.2d
510 (1965). The Supreme Court has accorded constitutional protection to
parental rights to custody and companionship of their own children, as well as
traditional parental authority in matters of child rearing and education.
Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972);
Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629, 88 S.Ct. 1274, 20 L.Ed.2d 195 (1968);
Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 45 S.Ct. 571, 69 L.Ed. 1070 (1925);
Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 43 S.Ct. 625, 67 L.Ed. 1042 (1923). The
rationale underlying these precedents applies with equal force to the question of
privacy and family autonomy implicated in this case. Indeed, in view of the
important role of the family as a check against the wrongful commitment of
minor children, it would be folly to recognize the aforementioned rights yet fail
to afford any protection to the parental right to supervise their institutionalized
children in the face of state proscriptions against parental access to information
and against parent-child communication imposed for therapeutic reasons.

45

I therefore conclude that John Doe's allegation that he was deprived of his
rights as a parent under the first, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendments
presents a substantial federal question. Insofar as lack of subject matter
jurisdiction may have been a basis on which the district court dismissed the
amended complaint, the court's dismissal was erroneous.

V. DEPRIVATION OF THE RIGHT BY THE DEFENDANTS

46
47

Having recognized that the parental responsibility of supervision arising out of

the interest in and obligation for the health and welfare of their children
implicates the exercise of rights guaranteed by the Constitution, it must next be
determined whether Doe has alleged a proper claim under 42 U.S.C.A. Sec.
1983. If a proper claim has been adequately alleged, it must further be decided
whether the Public Health Trust's deprivation of these rights can withstand
judicial scrutiny. To determine whether a sufficient claim has been set out
under section 1983, the following three-step analysis is appropriate: (1)
whether a person was deprived of a right, privilege, or immunity secured by the
Constitution or the laws of the United States; (2) whether the defendant
subjected the plaintiffs to the deprivation; and (3) whether the defendants acted
under the color of state law. Adickes v. Kress Co., 398 U.S. 144, 150, 90 S.Ct.
1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970).

48

Doe concedes that the hospital staff informed him that Jane would be
incommunicado for a one-week period for the purpose of orienting her to the
psychiatric ward. In describing the therapy regimen prescribed for Jane,
however, staff told the Does only that the program would require Jane to earn
"privileges" of communication. After approximately one month of confinement,
Jane had earned no "privileges." Hospital staff denied the Does any access to
their daughter by mail, telephone, or personal visitation, prevented Jane from
initiating communication with her parents, and rebuffed numerous attempts by
the parents to reestablish communication with their daughter. Significantly, Doe
has also alleged that hospital personnel prevented his acquisition of information
about his daughter's welfare and facts concerning the side effects of her
treatment, treatment alternatives, or the approximate length of care. The Public
Health Trust has thus precluded any informed consent by the parents, either
express or implied, for any specific treatment, including the isolation therapy.
Applying these allegations, which must be taken as true, to the analysis set out
above, I conclude that John Doe has stated a proper claim.

49

As discussed earlier, parents have a protected right to supervision arising out of

their interest in and obligation for the welfare and health of their children. Doe
has alleged that the hospital officials eviscerated this right through the

imposition of a treatment regimen which deprived him of his ability to obtain

information concerning his daughter's health and to communicate with his child
so as to meaningfully exercise the right. The Public Health Trust maintains in
this appeal that Jane or her parents can, under Florida law, seek her discharge at
any time. It must be decided, therefore, whether the parental right of
supervision mandates communication between parent and child under the
circumstances of this case. Further, it must be decided whether the
reestablishment of communication can be achieved without removing Jane from
the treatment facility. Because of the importance I attach to the fundamental
right of parental supervision, I would hold that the Does must be allowed to
communicate with their daughter without removing her from the institution. As
discussed below, however, the act of communication carries with it certain
consequences.
50

The therapeutic measure involved in the treatment program here under attack-no communication between parent and child--is unlike any medical therapy I
can reasonably imagine in a practical setting. In most other instances,
discovering whether a child is progressing from an illness, even mentally
related, involves a parent's viewing and communicating with the child. In this
case, however, the parents' right to supervise is prohibited by the very program
undertaken to bring about a cure. Allowing John Doe to exercise his right of
supervision over the medical treatment of his child in no way calls into question
the professional judgment of the treating physician who recommended this
therapy. Moreover, I explicitly refrain from questioning the medical legitimacy
of the treatment program. The deference I give to the medical judgment
involved, however, does not outweigh the right of the parent to analyze the
progress gained by such a program. John Doe has evidenced his concern for the
mental stability of his daughter by seeking medical treatment. With all respect
due to the opinion of the treating physician, he can never be certain whether the
therapy is resulting in improvement without first-hand observation. Such
observation necessarily involves communication.

51

In recognizing John Doe's right to examine the effects of the treatment program,
I do not intimate that a parent has a right to demand a treatment program of his
choice. I would hold only that a parent, after initially consenting to a treatment
program that requires foregoing certain rights, can later reject the program
chosen and cannot be forced into a choice of either accepting continued
deprivation of communication or removing his child from the institution.3 Cf.
Rogers v. Okin, 634 F.2d 650, 661 (1st Cir.1980),vacated on other grounds sub
nom. Mills v. Rogers, --- U.S. ----, 102 S.Ct. 2442, 73 L.Ed.2d 16 (1982)
(patients entitled to therapy that state doctors, in the exercise of their
professional judgment, determine is best). Once the Does initiate

communication, however, certain risks evolve. Obviously, the no

communication therapy is rendered ineffectual and its success or failure to that
point is irrelevant. When the no communication restriction is lifted, the parent
cannot enforce a desire to continue treatment under the therapy previously
employed. Moreover, if this particular treatment program is the only method
practiced at this institution, or is the only program that doctors at Jackson
Memorial will prescribe based on their professional judgment of the patient's
individual needs, the parent can then only seek treatment elsewhere.
52

I cannot overemphasize that my position does not call into question the
legitimacy of the no-communication rule of the therapy program. The results
from such a program may result in complete recovery for its participants.
Moreover, I do not question the soundness of the professional judgment behind
the implementation of this type of treatment. Nevertheless, because the
requirements of the therapy impinge upon the constitutional right which is
recognized above, I would hold that the Public Health Trust cannot prevent
John Doe from "violating" its proscriptions but, at the same time, cannot
condition the exercise by requiring Jane's parents to withdraw their daughter
from the treatment facility.

VI. CONCLUSION
53

I believe that Doe's amended complaint sets forth sufficient allegations, which,
if proven, would entitle him to relief under section 1983. Because the resolution
of these allegations depends upon the presentation of evidence, which, at this
stage of the proceedings has yet to occur, I would allow the parties to be heard
more fully in further proceedings, either through summary judgment or trial on
the merits. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 250, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 1693, 40
L.Ed.2d 90 (1974). If further proceedings reveal that such allegations cannot be
substantiated, the district court would be obligated to dismiss. Such a
determination, however, must be based upon the facts as developed. See Harper
v. Cserr, 544 F.2d 1121, 1125 (1st Cir.1976). I would therefore reverse the
district court's dismissal of Doe's complaint and remand to that court for further
proceedings.

10

To the extent that patients might be prevented from leaving, they become
involuntary patients whose rights are as set forth in the preceding parts of this
opinion

Because the record now before us leaves us uncertain whether appellants will
be able to show that the no-communication rule is medically illegitimate,

regardless of the standard governing such showing, and because this issue has
been inadequately briefed, we decline at this time to reach out and define
precisely what showing the Does must make to prove a valid cause of action. If
the issue is reached upon remand, we suggest two possibilities that should be
considered by the district court. The first possibility is the test enunciated in
Youngberg v. Romeo, --- U.S. ----, ----, 102 S.Ct. 2452, 2462, 73 L.Ed.2d 28
(1982) ("decision by the professional is such a substantial departure from
accepted professional judgment, practice or standards as to demonstrate that the
person responsible actually did not base the decision on such a judgment"). The
second possibility is that the Does must show that the medical or therapeutic
basis for the rule was a mere pretext. By suggesting the foregoing as two
possible tests, we do not express an opinion that the two are substantially
different, or that other possibilities should not be considered
1

The district court entered its order dismissing the amended complaint before
Doe filed a reply to the motion. Doe requested the court to reconsider its earlier
dismissal contending that the applicable time period for filing a reply had not
expired when the order was entered. Finding this contention erroneous, the
district court reaffirmed the order dismissing the amended complaint

Although the Parham Court recognized the necessity of an independent and

periodic procedure by which to gauge a child's need for continued
hospitalization, the Court stopped short of prescribing appropriate procedures.
Parham, 442 U.S. at 607 n. 15, 99 S.Ct. at 2506 n. 15. See also, Secretary of
Public Welfare v. Institutionalized Juveniles Et Al., 442 U.S. 640, 650 n. 9, 99
S.Ct. 2523, 2528 n. 9, 61 L.Ed.2d 142. The circumstances of the instant case
require that we address this issue left open in Parham. As my position makes
clear, the parent must be allowed to monitor the child's continuing need for
medical attention

It must be kept in mind that this no communication therapy is simply one of

many treatment programs. An adult voluntarily committed, or an adult
involuntarily committed, through a guardian, may reject a specific treatment
program. I would merely hold that a parent, acting for his child, has the same
right
We are not faced with the question of balancing interests between the state and
a patient in a situation where the patient will resort to violence or other antisocial behavior in the absence of a specific treatment program or administration
of a specific anti-psychotic drug.